Sniper (Locust)
The Locust Sniper Drones were expert marksmen who can always be found wielding the Longshot Sniper Rifle and less commonly the Mortar. They have little to no armor in favor of more mobility and highly resemble the Drone despite their goggles. They use Infrared/Thermal goggles to help locate enemies. They use cover such as buildings and alleyways and can almost always be found at a vantage point. These elite shock troops are feared by COG soldiers. They aren't always as ruthless as Drones, however, this doesn't make them less bloodthirsty as they snipe any Gear in their way. History They are used to pin down enemies, and have been trained since birth to kill Gears, like all Locust. They can be very deadly if not checked, as a single well-placed high caliber Longshot round can kill a Gear, and should always be taken care of before advancing. As well as using the Longshot, they were also seen using Snub Pistols or Hammerbursts. Destruction of Halvo Bay Several Snipers attacked Kilo Squad while they searched for their missing convoy at Old Town. More Snipers mounted several turrets on Enfield Bridge and tried to stop Kilo from entering the Halvo Bay Military Academy but were unsuccessful. While making their way along the cliffs of Onyx Point, Kilo Squad came under fire from Snipers armed with One-Shots from an adjacent cliff. Armed with Torque Bows and Breechshots, the Gears were able to pin down most of the Snipers before heading to an elevator into the silo where the Lightmass Missile was located. More Snipers were sent by General Karn to stop Kilo from deploying the Lightmass Missile and continued to attack the group across the rooftops of Halvo Bay but were unsuccessful. They were last seen raiding the courthouse in which Kilo Squad was being trialed for their earlier actions and were again slain by them. During the raid, one of the Snipers was quickly killed by an Onyx Guard and Garron Paduk managed to use its Longshot to kill a Drone that tried to use Ezra Loomis as a Meat Shield. Evacuation of Ilima When General RAAM was given orders to attack the Ilima city with a Kryllstorm so it could devour the human population of the city, Snipers helped him to carry out the orders given by Queen Myrrah. Two of them attacked Zeta-Six when they reached Echo-Five's location from distant rooftops. Two more attacked Zeta from the 3rd floor of a building as they exited Ilima Savings and Trust and killed one Gear as he was trying to flee. Around the area of Ilima City Hall, two Snipers burst from the ground and attacked Zeta as they dealt with the other Locust and afterwards more Snipers came out of E-Holes. Inside Ilima City Hall, they took advantage of the high positions inside the building and ambushed them a few times. Lightmass Offensive During the Lightmass Offensive, several Snipers took guard positions around the House of Sovereigns to protect it from any Gears that approached. One of these Snipers was responsible for the death of Anthony Carmine. When Anthony spoke to Minh about how his rifle was jamming, he unintentionally poked his head out, allowing the Sniper to kill Anthony. The Sniper then fled the scene and managed to escape before Delta Squad could avenge his death. More Snipers would guard the path from Tomb of the Unknowns to Franklin's Outpost and would attack Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago on their way towards Chaps Gas Station, with some of them being devoured by the Kryll now covering the skies. Many Snipers attacked Franklin's Outpost and killed almost all of the Stranded around the place, however Delta used a leaking gas pipe to burn the rooftops and finished off almost all of the Snipers around the area. Another Sniper attacked Delta inside the Outer Hollows but was killed by a small avalanche caused by the Gears. Some other Snipers attacked Delta as they tried to reach the Fenix's Estate and would also attempt to prevent the Gears from returning power to the Timgad Bridge. At Timgad Station itself, the Gears came under attack from Snipers at elevated positions but they managed to take them out and to get on board the Tyro Pillar. Mission to the Pirnah Badlands A single Sniper Drone was part of the Locust attack on Delta Squad while searching for MIA Gear squads on the Pirnah Badlands. He tried to ambush them from behind and took down Gil Gonzalez, but Jace made short-work of him with his own Longshot Sniper Rifle. Unidentified M.O.U.T battle A single Sniper gave support to the Locust forces in an unidentified battle between the COG and the Locust. Gus spotted him but could not reach him because many Tickers were protecting him and reported to Delta Squad about the situation. Sgt. Alex Brand was able to reach the sniper nest and blew up one of the Tickers, which set off a chain reaction that killed the Sniper. Operation: Hollow Storm During Operation: Hollow Storm, a large number of Snipers guarded the Inner Hollows as the COG managed to enter the Locust home. A single Sniper attacked Delta while they passed near a destroyed Grindlift, however Delta just found another Sniper nest nearby with many Snipers ready to take them out. Fortunately, Delta managed to use a Rock Worm as cover and managed to shoot an Imulsion tank which destroyed the nest and killed all Snipers. Several Sniper Drones were sent to the remains of the city of Ilima to deal with the remaining Stranded. Delta Squad dealt with many snipers as they progressed through the city. They later appeared at the New Hope Research Facility where they ambushed the Gears from distant places, covered from the Razorhail. When Marcus and Dom went back into the Hollows so they could activate JACK's targeting beacon, which would lead more Grindlifts into the Hollow, several Snipers attempted to stop the duo, using several tactics from lowering the Gears' cover to Mortar fire. Despite this, they failed and the COG managed to assault the Palace deep within Nexus. Two Snipers took guard inside the Archives Building during the Siege of Jacinto. They oversaw the courtyard from a balcony but were unable to stop Marcus and Dom. The duo faced more of them as they made their way into Jacinto's sinkhole. Lambent Invasion During the Lambent Pandemic, Snipers were discovered using stolen, highly powerful, One-Shot sniper cannons. They used them to defend their bases on the Centennial Bridge and in the Deadlands. They appear to have some affiliation to the Savage Locust as they protect savage outposts. They were later re-encountered at Endeavour Naval Shipyard, where they tried to take out Delta Squad while they were dealing with the Serapedes below. However, the Gears managed to slay both the Serapedes and the Snipers, and continued on their way. They, like most other Locust, later died due to the Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon. Behind the scenes Single player *Snipers have been seen operating Mortars, however this isn't as common as Drone operators. *Snipers in campaign wear a shoulder plate similar to the Spotter's one. Multiplayer *The Locust Sniper can be unlocked as a multiplayer character in Gears of War 3 by achieving 100 headshots in Versus mode. *The Sniper seems to speak a longer phrase compared to other Drones, as when a Perfect Reload is done in a game mode, he will say something about a target being seen and being locked and loaded. He is also playable in Gears of War 2 with a pair of glowing goggles. *The Sniper is a playable character in Gears of War 4, available in the Locust Sniper Gear Pack. Category:Locust Soldier